1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of cooking and fireplace devices; more particularly, to a combination grill, smoker and fireplace device having a tapered configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Outdoor fireplaces, grills and smokers have greatly evolved over the past decades. Barbeque grills were commonly used for food preparation outside many homes throughout the United States. For users who desired to have their food smoked instead of just grilled, a device called a smoker was introduced into the food preparation industry. The smoker had an enclosed chamber with a heat source, which could be charcoal or electric, and typically wood chips positioned at the bottom and trays to hold the food. Many inventions, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,786,741; 4,721,037; and 6,595,197, began to combine the grill and smoker devices together, thereby saving a potential customer the expense of having to buy and maintain two separate items.
Other combination apparatuses such as smoker and oven devices or grills with incorporated fireplaces then started to emerge. U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,604 (hereinafter called “the '604 patent”) issued to Deichler, Jr. on Mar. 23, 2004 described a collapsible smoker and oven device. The '604 patent described a device having a folding center section assembly and support plates pivotally mounted to fold out quickly, with a cover on top. Then, U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,188 (hereinafter called “the '188 patent”) issued to Skidmore et al. on Jun. 29, 2004 described a convertible grill and fireplace. The '188 patent discloses a grill and fireplace having a single firebox and lid, both of which may be used in both a grill configuration and a fireplace configuration. The fireplace configuration has a detachable and foldable screen assembly positioned between the firebox and the lid. The '188 patent also described its apparatus to include retractable legs so that the firebox may be lowered or raised. However, neither the '604 patent nor the '188 patent provided for a grill, smoker and outdoor fireplace.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,748,939 (hereinafter called the '939 patent) issued to Gober on Jun. 15, 2004 described a grill, smoker and outdoor fireplace having a support frame with legs for supporting a chamber member and a middle member forming a heating cavity. The middle member is formed of four plate with edges of adjacent plates welded together to form a square opening extending between an upper end and a lower end of the member. The chamber member has walls that taper inward from its upper end to an ash removal opening and is designed to dump ashes down a chute so the ashes can be quickly removed without disassembling the grill. However, heat and smoke generated inside the chamber of the '939 patent rises to the top creating a convection oven effect causing heat crowning at the top of the chamber.
In view of the above described deficiencies associated with the use of conventional methods and systems for raising, leveling, supporting and repairing existing damaged foundations, the present invention has been developed to alleviate these drawbacks and provide further benefits to a user. These enhancements and benefits are described in greater detail herein below with respect to several embodiments of the present invention.